Press Release: italki launches “WhatsApp for language learning”

Language learning social network launches iPhone app to connect 1 million language partners around the world through text and voice chat

SHANGHAI, China – January 29, 2013 – italki, the leading social network for language learning, has launched the first iPhone app to connect language learners around the world through text, voice, and images. The “italki Messenger” allows language learners to text message, voice chat, and share images with the over 1 million language learners currently using italki.

“Chatting with a language partner is one of the most popular activities on the italki website. Extending this to a mobile app is a great way to help our users stay connected and learn a language,” said co-founder, Kevin Chen. “Users can now practice their written and spoken language, anytime and anywhere. No other app connects you instantly with other language learners.”

italki’s iPhone app allows language learners to text message, voice message, and share pictures. After creating an account, a user can search for new language partners by language or country. Over 200 countries and over 100 languages are represented on italki, which gives users the opportunity to start practicing any language immediately.

“We are delighted with the launch of italki’s iPhone app,” said William Bao Bean, an investor in italki. “We expect italki will continue to innovate on both mobile and web.”

italki is an online language learning community that brings students and teachers together for paid and free language learning. Since launching in 2007, the italki community has grown to over 1 million members from over 200 countries and has been featured in top international press such as Techcrunch, Mashable, The Independent, and The Guardian.